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CasualGoshawk — Dulce 2
#bird #birdofprey #buzzard #canon #canonrebel #dulce #education #hawk #raptor #redtail #redtailedhawk #canonphotographer #canonphotography #ocbpc #listgoshawk #orangecountybirdofpreycenter #casualgoshawk #listgoshawkphotography
Published: 2018-10-01 15:07:58 +0000 UTC; Views: 260; Favourites: 24; Downloads: 0
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Description
Dulce is a female Red Tailed Hawk, she is an ambassador bird for the Orange County Bird of Prey Center. Her past is a bit murky as she was transferred between several facilities before coming to us, what we do know is that she's and imprint. Imprints are birds that were either raised by humans or typically were fed by humans when rather young, they also can't be released. This is because even though they can be taught to hunt, humans can't teach them which birds are friends and which birds aren't so friendly, and we also can't teach them to be afraid of humans because imprints are too habituated to humans (and in a lot of cases think of themselves as human). Due to this, they may wander into areas filled with humans, which isn't very good for wildlife. It can lead to car or window strikes, domestic animal attacks, and it increases their risk to be poisoned by rodenticide. Not only this, but when humans see a raptor hanging around, they generally assume they're stalking their pets, when in reality if it's an imprint they might just associate people with food. Because of these factors, Dulce now spends her life educating the public about her species and how we can help other Red Tails and raptors stay healthy in the wild.You can learn more about OCBPC and our ambassadors in these places:
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Comments: 13
.That is unfortunate. Still a good photo and Dulce is a majestic bird.
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It is, but we're glad she can educate people and I'm always happy that I get to appreciate her beauty
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Bless her heart! That is really sad. I didn't know that about them losing the prey instinct, right? That is how I would consider it. That is why wild creatures need to remain wild and in their own habitats.
Of course many times a person finds an animal or a bird and rescues it with the best intentions without realizing what they are doing that might be harmful to the animal. Thanks for your posts. I truly love them, and love the education you are giving me about many birds that I would not have known otherwise!
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They can be taught to hunt (Typically, some birds just don't get it) but it's almost impossible to teach them everything else they need to know in the wild without putting them in harm's way. Many people will find a baby animal that actually isn't injured, but assume that it must be if they found it. So they'll take home an otherwise healthy animal and make it nonreleasable by robbing it of necessary skills and of its fear of humans. While I'm grateful they're interested in helping wildlife, there are many better ways of doing it. Many people also don't realize that it's typically incredibly illegal to do anything like that.
I'm glad you enjoy them~
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Yes, I agree about robbing them of the fear of human beings. I think a lot of us get that "Aww" feeling when we see little animals, especially the babies.
I have always wanted to have a squirrel for a pet. They are so adorable and cute, and little, but I also know that it is dangerous, it is unfair to the animal and I believe it is illegal to have one in the state that I live in.
It is something that I don't believe in, having or keeping wild animals, as much as I love them. It is not right or fair to them to rob them of whatever life they might have in their own habitat.
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Squirrels don't make very good pets to begin with, I'm not overly knowledgeable on them but even when raised from the time their eyes are closed they still keep very wild tendencies. Climbing, chewing, etc. A lot of that stuff just comes with the territory of keeping exotics, whether for rehab or as a companion animal, but I'm always hesitant with the word pet for any exotic. Pets generally take very little effort to maintain, and while a dog or cat may create lifestyle changes for some they're easy enough to accommodate. (Daily walks, litter box in the bathroom, yearly trips to the vet, etc.) With exotics it's a whole other ball game, ranging from spending thousands of dollars a month on food and enrichment, to moving states even to make sure your pet is still legal, to dedicating your whole backyard or even large sections of your house (if not the whole thing) to them. Most people I meet back off almost instantly about wanting say a wolf as a pet, when I tell them about the amount of food they eat and how much they can dig! (The wolfdogs I worked with dug a den big enough for three people to sit comfortably inside.) I'm glad you at least understand some of the commitment.
It becomes a complex topic rather quickly, I don't believe in taking a completely healthy wild animal from the wild to have as a pet. That's incredibly cruel to the animal, and in situations where an adult animal does come in from the wild and has to be housed in captivity from that point on it can take nearly the rest of that animal's life for it to gain any sort of trust with any one human. If people are determined to have an exotic animal as a pet they need to go through the proper channels and do it with the animal's best interest in mind. We used to have a Harris Hawk that someone took as a chick to raise as a pet, the guy had no idea what he was doing and the bird suffered as a result. It can be very difficult to raise a well mannered raptor in captivity even if you do know what you're doing.
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I couldn't agree more! I think people need to be very aware and honest about the reasons they want to have any pet to begin with. I have known of people who actually got a big cat and it ended up costing those people their lives. That is beyond foolhardy! I didn't know them personally, just knew people who knew them. I think most people want a pet because they don't want to be alone and certainly I do understand that. But we do need to know what we are letting ourselves in for and especially what we will be committing to with the animal, and what is best for the animal. I think birds are amazing but I hate the idea of having a bird in a cage.
I have had a recent experience with my cat that has taught me a valuable lesson. I have always been a cat lover and usually had cats that were indoor and outdoor cats.
I had not realized that indoor cats can live as long as 20 years, and decided the next time I got a cat, I would have it be an indoor cat.
I have had Rory for 5 years and a couple of years ago, he started pulling out his fur on his back, where he could reach around and get to it. He had never been outside other than on a leash, at around 2 years of age. He got out once and was out all night and ended up getting into a fight with a neighborhood cat. He ended up having an abscess that had to be lanced. But I discussed his pulling his fur out with the vet and he said it could be something as simple as a change in his food, or treats, which I had done both, or it could be an obsessive-compulsive thing. And I'm thinking," I am not putting an animal on anti-depressants!" They are dangerous for human consumption!
So finally after much consideration I decided to start letting him go outside. I decided it wasn't fair of me, nor right for him, to not allow him to be what he was born to be. He stopped pulling his fur out. It doesn't make me happy for him to be out so much, but I live in a very small town of less than 2000 people. He has been chipped. When I got him from the shelter, it had already been done. The vet is aware of his ability to get out of his collar that had his tag and after a couple of times of him losing his tag and collar, I gave up on that. It makes him happy and he is able to be what he was born to be. That is important. Sort of pointless to have a long life if it is not a good life, you know?
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I know people who get animals because they want to look tough, but in the end you'll only look stupid if you don't know what you're doing.
Birds in cages are a mixed bag, as is almost anything with animals. Leaving a parrot in a cage 24/7 is animal abuse. But having a cage is vital when you own a parrot or another bird. I typically use the word enclosure for that is what it is. It's a safe place for them to be away from stressors and danger, and cage to me also implies something small, which a proper bird cage is not. Even finches need a wide space to fly in, and the enclosures used for raptors (Who should never ever be kept in a parrot cage, I've seen pictures of owls sold in dome cages which you shouldn't even use for a parrot, and it is very sad to see.) are the size of a bedroom or larger. For any large parrot that isn't getting almost constant interaction or time out of its cage, they also need something around that same size. Everyone I know with macaws either only puts it away at night, and/or it has a whole room dedicated to it. For most animals, an enclosure is a safe place for it to be when it can't be monitored. For the few others it is its territory and it can actually be more cruel to the animal to frequently remove it from its cage. As with most things in animal husbandry, I encourage people to do more research and to understand how the thing is actually used as opposed to how the public thinks of it.
The reason cats should be strictly indoors is mainly for their own health. I personally believe if someone is doing something that will shorten their pet's lifespan, they need to rethink what they're doing. But apart from all the health benefits that come from keeping a cat indoors, its also for everything else's safety. Cats have caused the extinction of tens of bird species (Including owls) and plenty of other things, simply because they actually do hunt for fun. (Unlike most other predators.) They don't even eat most of their catches. I know a songbird rehabber who gets most of her birds in from cat attacks. Cats (and dogs) can also be a threat to larger birds as they carry bacteria in their mouths and claws that can infect even small wounds, although they're much more likely to cripple a bird than just wound it. So couple all those things with the fact that it dramatically shortens their lifespan and increases their risks to infection and other predators, my new saying I have started to tell people is that if your cat is allowed to kill, it is allowed to be kill. Having an outdoor cat means it's part of the ecosystem, and they are an incredibly invasive species. We just happen to have designed them to be incredibly cute, and incredibly effective predators.
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I had no idea about how much space birds need but it does make sense.
On the cat toying with their prey, that is the only thing I don't like about how cats are. My sister had a cat for almost 20 years who used to bring her live babies. Baby squirrels, baby rabbits; that was a fun experience! Ever see 4 adults trying to corner a scared young rabbit? We finally caught it and got it outside.
Susa never killed or maimed them. I think really, she wanted to be a mama. She would also bring in shrews and moles, alive and well.
I can understand your position on cats, especially under the circumstances.
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The main thing birds need is stimulation. If it can be provided by being out constantly and interacting with a person and toys and other birds, that's the ideal circumstances. (For a parrot anyway.) But if they can only get a certain amount of interaction, firstly reconsidering getting a parrot is the first thing I'd say, and secondly offering the largest space with the most enrichment possible and probably a companion bird would be the best circumstances in that case. But cages are not inherently cruel and are actually life savers a lot of the time.
A lot of the reasons cats will bring prey home is because they want to teach us how to hunt, so they often times won't kill it so that way they can teach us how to.
My position on cats is based entirely on their welfare and the welfare of the planet. Cats are domestic animals and not wild, therefore they should not be in the wild.
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I don't think they should be "in the wild" either. Nor do I believe they should be in a house or an apartment 24/7. I have seen the difference in my cat since he has been going outside and he is healthier and happier.
I have never been around anyone who had large birds, at all. I would think it would be a big responsibility to have a parrot. I think finches are beautiful and of course hummingbirds are just so precious to watch.
Wow, I did not know that about cats thinking they could teach us to hunt. Interesting.
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By letting them outside unsupervised that is what is happening, however. They are becoming a part of the ecosystem as they hunt, are hunted, add nutrients, and take nutrients from their environment. Cats do a significant amount of damage to the environment and there are plenty of alternatives to letting them get into a risky situation where they might become hurt or where they will hurt other things. Outdoor cats kill 1.4-3.7 billion birds a year, and 6.9-20.7 billion mammals a year. 41% of their kills are left to rot. These are only how they effect the environment around them, not even getting into the safety concerns for their health. In the short term you may see some benefits, but in the end it will do much more harm than good. I'm sorry but that is simply the facts, not an opinion.
Having any sized parrot takes up a lot of time, money, and resources. People rarely know what they're getting themselves into and as a result the animals suffer. Finches are considerably easier to care for but still need a surprising amount of space especially when several pairs are housed together. Hummingbirds and their cousins however are really difficult even to keep in rehab for short periods of time. I've known people who have had hummingbirds fly into their houses and before they could get them outside they died of dehydration and starvation as their metabolism is so fast they need to eat every 15 minutes. All in all, I always recommend bird feeders.
To cats we are large kittens who need to learn to fend for ourselves, only 21% of their kills are actually brought home though.
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I did not realize that! I will try to find other ways to keep him occupied and start taking him out on his leash and his holster. I appreciate your knowledge and insights.
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